Innholdsfortegnelse for May/June 2016 i Faces People, Places, and World Culture for Kids and Children

Throughout the world, governments have set aside land in their countries as national parks. The main purpose of these areas is to protect the land and wildlife, but an added benefit is that people get to enjoy the natural wonders of these parks. Here are five fun facts about jewels of the world’s national parks to get you started. 1. The largest national park in the world is larger than all but 30 of the world’s nations. Northeast Greenland National Park covers 375,000 square miles and is a region of extremely cold temperatures. 2. A discovery by railroad workers led to the first national park in Canada. Three men discovered a hot spring in the Montane Cordillera region in 1883. The hot spring and surrounding areas eventually became Banff National…

Brothers Tom and William McCardell and their friend Frank McCabe followed the stream to a deep, steaming hole in the snow. The rotten egg smell of sulfur almost drove them away. Wondering what was causing the steam, William braved the unknown and shimmied down a dead tree into the dark depths of the hole. Below the surface were a cavern and a pool of water. To their surprise and delight, they had discovered a hot spring. Hot springs form when water, deep underground, seeps upward through warm rock. As it rises to the surface it gathers minerals, and an unpleasant smell. Springs were thought to cure many ailments, from breathing difficulties to joint pain. The McCardells joined McCabe for a refreshingly hot bath, and they hatched a plan. They would…

Jimmie Angel, an American bush pilot, was hired by the Venezuelan government to carry out geological explorations. He was primarily searching for gold. In 1935, while flying over a tributary of the River Caroni in the Guyana Highlands, he spotted a waterfall that appeared to be higher than any ever seen before. Measuring the falls with his plane’s altimeter, Angel insisted that the falls were a mile high. Two years later, Jimmie Angel returned to the area with his wife and two friends. Not realizing how swampy the land was, Angel landed his plane on Auyan Tepui at the top of the falls. The plane got stuck on the marshy ground, and Jimmie found himself unable to take off again. For 11 days, Angel and his three companions trekked across…

The Paiutes, he discovered, believed that long ago there was a great and wise chief of the Utes who mourned the death of his beloved wife. Day and night he grieved and would not be comforted. And all the people were sad. At last, Tavwoats, one of the Native American gods, came to the chief and told him his wife was in a happier land, and offered to take him there so that he might see for himself. But the god made the man promise that, if he saw this, he would cease to mourn upon his return. The chief vowed to do this. Then Tavwoats took a magic ball, like a globe of fire, and rolled it before him. As it spun, it parted the Earth and mountains, crushing…

The five species of New Zealand’s pear-shaped, chicken-sized, flightless kiwis are classified as birds. Yet, unlike most birds, they have thick, leathery skin; hairlike feathers; poor eyesight; a great sense of smell and hearing; and a long, flexible bill with nostrils on the end. Their body temperature, ovaries, and eye sockets are more mammalian than avian. It’s no wonder that scientists joke that kiwis are honorary mammals. Because kiwis lived in New Zealand for millions of years when the environment had no land-based mammals, biologists think that kiwis eventually filled an ecological niche as a ground-dwelling animal. Kiwis likely evolved from much larger birds. They got smaller but their eggs did not, staying about the size of ostrich eggs. Male kiwis incubate a relatively enormous egg in a burrow for…

Vatnajškull (VAT-na-yer-kull) Glacier in Iceland, the largest glacier in Europe, sits atop an upland plateau, a high area with a flat top. The eastern part of Iceland is the most accessible part of glacier country. Visitors can tour the massive glacier. For the most part, glaciers remain relatively the same size from year to year. Falling snow on top adds to the size of the glacier. As the size and weight of the glacier increase, it presses into the valleys and moves, inch by inch, downward. The lower it moves, the warmer it is, and the more the glacier melts. Vatnajškull’s titanic size is dependent on two factors that affect all glaciers. The first is the height above sea level at which the glacier is located. The higher it is,…

If you could visit any national park in the world which would it be? Would you visit one of our country’s breath-taking sites or would you journey to a different continent to view jewels of other cultures? Imagine that your wish has come true and you have been granted a trip of a lifetime. After taking in the views, don’t forget to pop into a shop and buy postcards to send to friends and family back home! Materials: Unlined index cards Pencil and eraser Colored markers Scrap paper Step 1: Choose a Location Decide what location you will visit on your dream trip. Will you take in the Grand Canyon or journey to Africa to see lions and elephants? Once you have selected your destination, do some research and find…

Long before national parks existed, 16th century Ming Dynasty rulers recognized the importance of protecting areas of natural beauty. They prohibited logging and hunting at Bogd Khan Mountain, one of the four holy peaks that surround the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar. The area was formally protected in 1778 when Bogd Khan Uul was established as the world’s first protected natural area. It was once home to the Manzushir Monastery, an important center of Buddhism. Hundreds of monks lived there and worshipped at its 20 temples. In the 1920s, Buddhism was viewed as a threat to the Mongolian government. By 1937, all of Manzushir’s monks had been killed or exiled and their temples had been destroyed. The only thing that survived was a 2-ton bronze cauldron from the 1700s. It was…

Snowdonia National Park lies in the heart of north Wales. Taking its name from Snowdon (3,560 feet or 1,085 meters), the highest peak in England and Wales, the area is filled with the most rugged, dramatic scenery in all of Wales. Covering 840 square miles and measuring 50 miles from north to south, Snowdonia has beautiful beaches, mountains, and moorlands, rushing streams and rivers, lakes and waterfalls, and forests and woodlands. It is a paradise for hikers, cyclists, and fishermen. Hikers of all skill levels can enjoy Snowdonia. Hikes vary from gentle rambles along the footpaths of the lower slopes to climbing areas as challenging as you will find anywhere, with ropes and pitons needed to conquer the steep, barren, rocky slopes. Some areas are so rugged that in 1953,…

Mount Everest lies in the eastern Himalaya, the world’s greatest mountain chain. The Himalaya stretch about 1,500 miles east to west along the border of Nepal and Tibet. Laid down on the continental United States, the Himalaya would cover a 100-mile-wide swath of land from New York City to Houston, Texas. Everest, lying on Nepal’s border with China, has drawn the bravest of souls. Standing a dizzying 28,570 feet tall, the height at which many commercial airliners fly, Mount Everest is the pinnacle of the earth’s surface. The summit’s extreme environment threatens the life of anyone who attempts the two-month journey to the top. The frigid subzero temperatures, the sudden storms with 100-mile-per-hour winds, and the thin air (containing only one-third of the oxygen we breathe at sea level) are…

Acadia National Park in Maine was the first U.S. national park in the eastern United States. Between October and March, you can see the sunrise before anyone else in the United States atop Cadillac Mountain. Acadia covers more than 47,000 acres along the Atlantic coast. More than 2 million people visit the park each year to hike, camp, and swim. ROAR! When water enters Thunder Hole, an inlet on Mount Desert Island, it forces air out and causes a noise that resembles a roll of distant thunder. Philanthropist John D. Rockefeller oversaw the construction of 45 miles of carriage roads throughout the park. The roads were completed in 1940 and are still in use today. Not for the faint of heart! The Precipice Trail along Champlain Mountain has an almost…